“Innocent Spouse Relief”

An ex-wife gets no tax relief. In general, married taxpayers who file a joint tax return are “jointly and severally liable” for the tax due on the return. However, spouses may be eligible for “innocent spouse” relief if they can prove they didn’t know about an understatement of tax. In one case, a married couple filed a joint return and later divorced. The U.S. Tax Court ruled the ex-wife wasn’t entitled to innocent spouse relief with respect to two sources of income earned by the ex-husband because she was aware he had received 1099 forms. (TC Summ. Op. 2017-95)